Ed Stembridge’s Vega tale last week reminded me of my own Vega ownership. I have only had mine a few years, but there have been zero issues. The paint is as new, there is no rust, and I haven’t even had to replace the hard-to-find 13″ whitewall tires. Why?

Because it’s a detailed 1/18 scale model, of course. First off, I was just delighted that Ertl had the guts to make a die-cast model of the Vega. It would have been so easy to just reissue their ’57 Chevy or ’69 GTO in a new color, which probably would have sold better as well. They didn’t scrimp on the details either, as the model features opening hood, doors and hatch, folding front seats, and a fold-down rear seat to boot.

The proportions are spot-on as well, although the wheels and tires look a little oversized–perhaps 1/18-scale 15″ tires? That doesn’t detract much from the Hatchback’s clean and attractive lines, though. The 1971-73 Vega hatch was a sharp little set of wheels.

Open wide! Perfect for the 1/18-scale sportsman who wants to haul his fishing gear and a cooler of beer for a weekend getaway.

The little OHC four is also quite well done, with a properly detailed air cleaner, coolant reservoir, battery, and even miniature rubber heater hoses.

The interior also looks properly early-’70s GM, with plenty of fake wood and black “vinyl.” Looks like this one has the Rally gauges, though it isn’t a GT. Note it has the passenger-side grab handle as well.

Around 2003, Ertl released three variants–red and blue “standard” models with blackwalls, and a higher-priced “Deluxe” hobby edition which added the opening hatchback and whitewall tires. I got mine from MVR Hobby in Davenport which, sadly, closed in 2011 when the proprietor, Mel, decided to retire. I recall I traded him a black Ertl ’71 Challenger for this Vega (I already had a much cooler Ertl Challenger, red with black top and white interior).

Sadly, Ertl sold their model kit and die-cast business a few years ago, and now makes–believe it or not–strollers and other plastic baby accessories. The die-cast car section, which once graced an entire aisle at my local Toys R Us back in the ’90s, was sold to Auto World, which has re-released some of their castings, albeit at a higher price. No reissued Vega has appeared, however. Too bad, as I’d love a miniature Kammback to keep my Hatchback company!

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26 Comments

I’ve got a Vega in the later style done by Fresh Cherries. They did a whole series with the Grelim, Pinto, Comet that sold through Walmart. Mine isn’t quite the same quality as your ERTL but I quite enjoy it. It has even more bloated looking rims/tires.

John DeLorean was right – the Vega would have looked better with bigger wheels. Your car proves it.

You should have bought two, than gotten some “rust” paint from the hobby store and made the car look like it would have by, say, 1976. In the 70s, a friend got a set of hobby “environmental” paints – rust, dirt, mud, moss, etc. I gave a similar treatment to a 1970 Ford Galaxie model kit that I built, with lots of rust-outs and even a door painted a different color. It looked like many of them on the road by 1975 or so.

I like it, especially in that shade of blue. Wish I’d gotten one of those when they came out. They also had a Gremlin in yellow in the same series. I do, however, have the JL Cutlass Supreme in burgundy with white landau top

When I was a kid back in the ’70s, I vaguely recall having a set of four toy Vegas in different colors. Possibly made by Tonka, but much smaller than a Tonka toy (I definitely had a similar set of Volkswagen Beetles, at least one of which is still kicking around my parents’ house among the toys for the grandkids). Does anyone else remember anything like this, or is my memory faulty?

If it was plastic, I may have had one. Mine was a Kammback in blue with a white interior and was all plastic except for the axles. It may have been by Tootsietoy, but I’m not sure. It may still be in a box somewhere. BTW, it was the big-bumper version.

I didn’t realize Ertl got out of the diecast/model biz. What a shame My Dad and I probably have their entire line of 1/18 scale offerings from the early 90s to mid 00s.

I had the “standard” Blue Vega for a little while. One thing interesting about it, which isn’t doable on most other “standard” Ertls with a trunk, is the hatch can be made to open by disassembling it and cutting off the triangular tabs holding the hatch to the quarter panels/taillight panel. The hinge on the roof is there in all of them.

Unfortunately my Vega experience, like so many other’s Vega experiences, was short lived. I got carried away and decided to try cloning a Yenko turbo vega, lost interest and never put it back together. Though I did find it a replacement…

For some reason, a lot of people selling Ertl diecast have, shall we say, an inflated value of their worth. When I got these back in the ’90s, they ran about $20-25. The Vega cost me nothing, as I traded a couple of cars I already had for it. The Vega had been sitting in the hobby shop for a long time, and I thought Mel would be interested in a barter transaction. Fortunately, he was!

So I’m into 1/24 and 1/25 scale models & diecasts… The last interesting ones I’ve seen in the stores have been the “Fresh Cherries” Pintos, etc. While in WM this weekend buying birdseed, I cruised down the toy aisle and found not one plastic model kit nor any diecast cars besides matchbox-type stuff.

Is there anything 1/24 or 1/25 available in retail-land anymore? I lose interest when the prices go much over ten bucks….exceptions being ’71-’76 & ’73-’77 GM products of course.

Actually, my TC came from Hobby Lobby! I used to collect a lot of 1/18 scale cars, but simply don’t have the room to display them, so I mostly collect 1/64 and 1/43 scale now.

It’s also worth checking out local hobby shops, if their are any in your area. Their used to be a good one locally, as mentioned above, and another excellent one in Dyersville, but both had closed by the end of 2011.